An independent school for girls in the UK has come up with a bucket list of fun and outdoor activities for children to tick off before they turn 5.
Burgess Hill Girls in West Sussex developed a list of 50 things for girls to do to get them outside, build their curiosity and love of nature, and get them away from their screens.
It follows research showing that many preschoolers are spending less and less time in nature.
Some of the things to do include hunt for worms or fly a kite.
The school, for girls aged 2.5 to 18, has made headlines around the world with the novel idea.
Headteacher Liz Laybourn told Danielle Galvin they know young children love to play on their parent’s phones, iPads and tablets, and have even mastered the “swipe” action early on.
“In the same vein, playing and exploring seems to be a thing of the past and children are not developing some of the most important life skills – resilience, ability to failure, taking risks, adaptability, being comfortable in the environment and trying things that they have never been encouraged to do,” she explained.
“It was relatively easy to think of the 50 things, as many we had ourselves done as young children, and then we thought about the types of activities we now encourage our nursery pupils to do.
“Our focus as a school is on outdoor learning and allowing the pupils to try real live things.
“Education is best when it is alive.”
Ms Laybourn explained while they weren’t necessarily witnessing young children being addicted to screens, it’s an ongoing issue for both parents and educators.
“Not necessarily screen addiction but a definite lack of dexterity in their motor skills due to being used to swiping screens rather than using keyboard skills,” she said.
“Phones and tablets are an easy option to keep children active when out for dinner or when parents are busy.
“Once they get a taste of it they just want more and more.
“It can be a real challenge for parents.”
The school posted the challenge with a graphic on their website in January, encouraging parents to take part and share their successes.
“We have created this list to encourage girls to be bold and curious from a young age and challenge themselves to try new activities.”
“It is specifically targeted at girls of pre-school age to help them learn essential skills before they start their first year of school.”
The list encourages girls to mix potions, make slime and mud pies, and gaze up at the stars.
Although there’s one activity Ms Laybourn had to explain – egg rolling.
“Egg rolling is when the children paint hard boiled eggs – make them truly pretty and individual and then find a really steep hill to roll them down,” she said.
“A tradition in some areas of the country but great fun!”
